Friday, February 28, 2014

KIEV,
Feb. 27 (Xinhua) The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday approved a cabinet led
by new Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk (1).
The new interim government, which has gathered well-known politicians and
prominent figures of the anti-government protests, was supported by 331
lawmakers of the 411 present in the parliament. Earlier in the day, 358
legislators supported a bill to dismiss the former government. The parliament
approved Vitaly Yarema (2), a
lawmaker from the "Fatherland" party, as first deputy prime minister.
Meanwhile, far-right politician Alexandr
Such (3) and businessman Vladimir
Groysman (4) were appointed deputy prime ministers. Former Foreign Minister
Borys Tarasyuk (5) was named deputy
prime minister for European integration, while Ostap Semerak (6), a former adviser to Yatsenyuk, became minister
of the cabinet. Andriy Deshchytsya (7),
a veteran diplomat, was given the foreign affairs portfolio, while Admiral Igor Tenyukh (8), former commander of
the Naval Forces of Ukraine, became defense minister. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov (9), who was appointed
earlier this week, has kept his post. Pavlo
Sheremeta (10), a well-known political analyst and founder of the
Kiev-Mohyla Business School, was made economy minister, while Alexandr Shlapack (11) took the post of
finance minister. Oleg Musiy (12),
the coordinator of the protesters' medical camp, was named health minister;
actor Eugene Nischuk (13), a
narrator who was cheering protesters from the stage during the anti-government
rallies, became culture minister, while Dmytro
Bulatov (14), an activist who was severely beaten during the protests, was
appointed as youth and sports minister. Maksym
Burbak (15), a lawmaker from the "Fatherland" Party, was approved
as infrastructure minister and his comrade Lyudmyla
Denysova (16) became social policy minister. Lawmaker Pavlo Petrenko (17) was appointed as justice minister and Sergiy Kvit (18), president of the
National University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy, took the post of education and
science minister. Lawmaker from "Svoboda" party Igor Shvaika (19) became agriculture minister, his party ally Adnriy Mokhnyk (20) became ecology
minister, while Yury Prodan (21),
who served as energy minister in 2007-2010, was appointed as minister of fuel
and energy. Earlier in the day, Yatsenyuk said that the main task of his
government is to lift Ukraine's economy, preserve the territorial integrity of
the state and follow the course toward European integration. Describing the
members of the new cabinet as "political kamikaze," Yatsenyuk said
that his government has to make unpopular decisions, which would displease many
Ukrainians in the short term.